Full suspension road frames

C'mon, someone's got to be working on this. with carbon fiber tubes becoming so reliable, i'd think you could make a piston out of carbon with a rubber seal... yeah it'd be super expensive, but price can't come down until supply does. anyone read about this or see anything interesting?

It's been done

Several companies have offered "soft-tail" road bikes using a short-travel shock where the seat stays join the seat tube and relying on slight flex in the chainstays. There also used to be a few suspension forks available for road bikes. Neither ever really took off. An expensive solution in search of a problem.

That said, I wouldn't be surpriseed if someone tried to revive the concept just because they're all trying to come up with something "new" to differentiate themselves, whether or not it offers any real advantage.

Last time I check; the 15lb bicycle was the natural evolutionary course of the bike. The didn't try to reinvent the thing. I'm surrounded by engineers. I've been working with them for the past 20 years. You'd could say I have an insight to how they think. I kown an engineer who took a Honda 750 Interceptor and modified it so the engine was driving the front wheel.
Hmm, let me think, you are taking a single track vehicle and putting 100+ horsepower to the same wheel you steer with. Makes perfect sense to me. That's what I'm talking about and yeah I'm rolling my eyes too.

rear suspension can be designed such that pedalling is completely efficient without bob, particularly when paired with a high-end stable platform valving. front suspension is a bit more tricking due to the nature of the stanction design but bob can be mitigate again by stable platform valving. just ride something like the specialized epic and you will be enlightened.

Well, I think there has been Softride (with that big beam that supports the saddle), Moots YBB (some elastomers in the seatstays), and also Slingshot (which has a cable or wire for the downtube). That's for rear suspension (not for Slingshot). And don't forget suspension seatposts.

Now front suspension is another ball of wax. There is Cannondale with its goofy Headshock (a shock absober built in the headtube), RockShock with a road-specific 700C suspension fork (it was heavy and expensive), and the Gipron quill stem which had three levels of elastomers (I think Softride uses the Gipron concept for threadless). I think the Softride/Gipron stem is the way to go. It's relatively light - whereas the Headshock and the RockShock road fork were heavy. I've seen some MTB Cannondales with one leg of the fork, but that looks too heavy and awfully goofy.

Full suspension technlogy has obviously come along way, but didn't Museeuw have some issues with a full suspension bike in Roubaix?

He finished 13th after blowing a tire and being unable to unclip from his pedals. The main thing was the weight.

"While riding the bike I did not feel a single thing and only a slight bump when I would hit a big pothole" says Rob. "The aluminum tubing kept the bike light as possible to make up for the heavy oil/air/spring suspension unit. Very rigid, very comfortable but a real pig when it came to climbing, thankfully it was only to used at Roubaix and not the Tour of Flanders".

I'm not sure if that really counts as "suspension." It's more so than the dampeners in Specialized Roubaixs, but it's not quite there for be. (By the way, I don't considered Moots YBBs to really be "suspension" either, but that's just my definition.)

"It is better to conquer yourself, than to win a thousand battles." -Dhammapada

"Fact is only what you believe; fact and fiction work as a team." Jack Johnson

"A true cyclist sometimes has to bite the dust before he can reach the stars.” Laurent Fignon

He finished 13th after blowing a tire and being unable to unclip from his pedals. The main thing was the weight.

"While riding the bike I did not feel a single thing and only a slight bump when I would hit a big pothole" says Rob. "The aluminum tubing kept the bike light as possible to make up for the heavy oil/air/spring suspension unit. Very rigid, very comfortable but a real pig when it came to climbing, thankfully it was only to used at Roubaix and not the Tour of Flanders".

Interesting. But if it was so good, why has no one tried it since? It is any good in a sprint? Not stiff enough?

"It is better to conquer yourself, than to win a thousand battles." -Dhammapada

"Fact is only what you believe; fact and fiction work as a team." Jack Johnson

"A true cyclist sometimes has to bite the dust before he can reach the stars.” Laurent Fignon

The specialized suspension he talks of is pretty sophisticated. It can tell if the impact/pressure is coming from below the bike or from above. The suspension doesn't compress (or "open') if there is only top down pressure on the shock.

MIN in PDX, Unlike in mountain biking, in road biking you are consistently pedaling. If the shock was always compressing from cobblestones then the shock would be in the "open" position, deeming the system to work just like any other suspension system, correct?

Should I post pictures of Julien Absolom winning countless races on a hardtail?

that's totally irrelevant.

obviously people have been winning races on hardtails for most of the last century but that doesn't address that fact that suspension is still preferable is many situations. how many posts do you see on the web about people seeking comfort on their bikes? suspension can do several things: enhance the ride experience, increase traction over sketchy terrain, reduce fatigue and improve cornering. imagine if you can have all of that without pedal bob and a huge weight penalty. we are nearly there, the marketers just have to find an angle that resonates with the people.

cycling is a traditional sport and many embrace the ways of the yester-years but that doesn't preclude the superiorty of current and impending technology vis a vis suspension.